The most widely used type of seedling tray now on the market is exemplified by the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,159. The tray of this patent possesses disadvantages in that removal of the plugs and seedlings from the tray results in varying degrees of plant shock whether or not the seedling is simply pulled out from the top or poked out from the bottom, or whether the tray is partially turned over to facilitate jarring the seedlings loose. All such shocks to the plant are detrimental to further growth, and it is an important object of the present invention to provide a seedling tray and the like wherein removable partitions may be pulled away one at a time with greater facility to permit the plants to easily be removed or fall out from the confinement between a pair of diverging walls of the partitions.
Further objectives of the invention include the provision of fastening means including aligning and fastening or clamping means for assembling the partitions as well as the provision of means to prevent growing medium from falling out of the compartments.
This is an improvement upon the seedling tray illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,188. U.S. Pat. No. 1,307,886, France, dated Sept. 17, 1962, illustrates the use of partitions, but the rows thereof are joined at the bottom and the bottom portions are hinged to adjoining bottom portions. No provision is made for air to pass upwardly through the bottoms or for removal of the partitions. The roots of adjoining plants may grow together as is common to the prior art.
Other patents, which are illustrative of the state of the art, include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,870,575; 2,944,696; 3,447,261; 3,53,594; 3,557,489; 3,667,159; 3,788,002; German Patent No. 547,677 and German Patent No. 2,362,457.